Chapter 1
Introduction
§ 1 Subject-matter and aims of the study
The selection of the subject-matter of the present study was prompted by
the antique distinction between sacra publica and sacra privata, discussed
below, and by the promising ruins of Ostia, extensive and relatively wellpreserved, but little publicized. Most of the available evidence of private
religion in Ostia had so far either not been dealt with at all or at best
summarily. Therefore my first aim was to gather evidence of private religion
in and from Ostia, and describe it in detail. My second aim was to analyze the
Ostian context of the evidence: the history and structure of the kinds of
buildings and of each individual building containing evidence. Particular
attention will be paid throughout the study to the relation the evidence might
have to the social function of the various buildings, that is to the ways in
which the buildings coincide with or contribute to social status and social
relations. The study is restricted to pagan religion.
§ 2 Definitions of public and private religion
2A The antique definitions
The only definitions of public and private religion which have come down
to us from antiquity are formulated by Festus: Publica sacra, quae publico
sumptu pro populo fiunt, quaeque pro montibus, pagis, curiis, sacellis; at
privata, quae pro singulis hominibus, familiis, gentibus fiunt.1 My discussion
of these definitions is based on the third part of Wissowa's "Religion und
Kultus der Römer". Wissowa's study was published as long ago as 1912, but
2
is still fundamental for the subject.
Festus mentions two criteria to distinguish between public and private
religion: in whose name the sacra take place (pro...), and with whose money
they are financed (sumptu). Public religion, he explains, takes place
1
Festus, De Significatione Verborum 245.
Wissowa 1912, 380-566, especially the pages 380-381, 385-386, 398-404, 432-434, 467-468,
477-478. Cf. De Marchi 1896, 1-26; Geiger 1920; Wachsmuth 1980.
2
2
INTRODUCTION
in the name of the populus and is financed with money of the people, from
public funds. It may be added that people could represent the populus, if they
were authorized to do so (populi iussu). Examples of such representation are
the consecration of a public temple by a magistrate, and the performing of
sacrifice by priests or by cult-officials without the status of priests. The
populus could furthermore permit that someone had a public shrine built or
3
restored de sua pecunia. Festus points out that public religion comprises the
relations between gods and the whole populus, but also between gods and
certain subdivisions of the populus, which together constitute the whole
community: the sacra pro montibus, pagis, curiis, sacellis - i.e. the
Septimontium, Paganalia, Fornacalia and Compitalia - are part of public
religion. Private religion on the other hand takes place in the name of
individuals, families and clans, where one should think of artificially created
bodies (collegia, "guilds") as well.
Private and public religion did not function in complete separation. Private
people could carry out their private religion without state priests, but the
supervision over both public and private religion was in the hands of the state,
through the ius divinum, which was part of the ius publicum. This meant for
example that state priests, the pontifices, verified whether an inheritance
passing to people outside a familia, when its last member had died, included
the sacra familiae. And a private person could ask for advice from the
pontifices. There was never any doubt however as to whether a cult belonged
to private or public religion. Public religion was limited to a fixed number of
gods and feriae publicae: those approved of by the government - representing
the populus - as state gods and feasts. On the other hand, any god could be
worshipped through feriae privatae, of individuals, families, clans, and
artificially created bodies, unless this led to disturbances of the peace in town.
The official approval of the populus is the crucial criterium. Consequently the
performing of sacrifice or the placing of a votive offering in a public temple
by a private person as private person belonged to the realm of private religion.
The difference between public and private religion implied a difference in
terms of religious law in the status of things handed over to the gods, such as
a shrine. The handing over of property to the gods took place through the
dedicatio, both in public and in private religion. However, only if the transfer
took place in the name of the people was the dedicatio also a consecratio, and
only then did the property become res sacra. Therefore someone stealing the
contents of a private shrine did not commit sacrilegium. Similarly only in
public religion did shrines become loca
3
Stambaugh 1978, 565-566.
INTRODUCTION
3
sacra, whereas private shrines were loca profana; only loca publica could
become loca sacra.
Ostia was a colonia and the coloniae, quasi effigies parvae simulacraque
populi Romani,4 worshipped the Roman state gods. The duoviri and
decuriones fixed the public feasts and sacrifices directly after the foundation
of the colonia. According to the antique tradition Ostia was Rome's first
colony, founded by Ancus Marcius. This is also stated in an inscription from
5
the Imperial period found in Ostia. Meiggs is inclined to lend some
6
credibility to this tradition, but more recently it has been argued that the town
7
was given the status of colonia as late as the first half of the first century BC.
2B Alternative definitions
Festus' definitions are to be understood from the point of view of religious
law, they are formal: public religion is the religion of the state, of the populus
as populus, private religion that of people in any other capacity than the
formal one of members or representatives of the populus. The words publicus
and privatus could in Roman antiquity also be used in a wider sense, without
8
the formal criterium. The two different meanings are still found in modern
9
Western thought. The central notions of the wider sense are "restricted" for
"private" and "unrestricted" for "public". More specifically: restricted to a
particular person or group or class of persons with regard to ownership,
participation and benefit; shared by all members of the community, freely
10
available to the public, for the general good, or not. In this wider sense
things public are related to the whole community, whereas something private
is restricted to one or more parts of the community.
The use of the wider definitions has two advantages. First of all it becomes
possible to work in conformity with the reality of social relations: all cults of
subdivisions of the populus can be assigned to the realm of
4
Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 16, 13, 9.
CIL XIV S, 4338; first half of second century AD (Meiggs 1973, 16).
6
Meiggs 1973, 16-20, cf. 337-343.
7
Pohl 1983. Cf. Pavolini 1988, 122-123.
8
OLD s.v. "Publicus" 3a: "of or affecting everyone in the state, communal, public"; 4: "available
to, shared or enjoyed by, all members of the community, public"; s.v. "Privatus" 1a: "restricted for
the use of a particular person or persons, private".
9
See e.g. WD s.v. "Private" and s.v. "Public".
10
WD s.v. "Private" 1a and 1d2, s.v. "Public" 4. The meaning of "private" can also be narrowed
down to the individual, to the extent that "personal" is offered as a synonym (WD s.v. "Private"
1b, 1c, 1d1), with a resulting gap between "public" and "private".
5
4
INTRODUCTION
private religion, whereas all cults related to the whole community can be
regarded as belonging to public religion. Secondly a basic approach is now
possible, allowing the assessment at a later stage of various supplementary
criteria, such as the role of the state - crucial in Festus' definitions -, and
individual versus collective worship (including the worship effected by
11
guilds). Therefore in this book the evidence of private religion is selected
according to the two wide definitions:
- Public religion is religion related to the whole community.
- Private religion is religion restricted to a particular person or group or class
of persons.
I would like to stress that the word "religion" is in the present study used in
an everyday sense. A statue of Mercurius is called a religious statue, because
Mercurius was a deity. This is not meant to imply a particular attitude towards
the statue in antiquity. Perhaps it was meant and understood as a reference to
profit only, perhaps there was also a feeling that a superhuman being had been
depicted.
2C Specification of the alternative definitions
In view of the archaeological nature of this book private religion will be
studied from the point of view of the material evidence in its material
environment. Two categories of evidence, reflecting two basic attitudes, can
be distinguished. Shrines are "objects, structures, or places that are considered
sacred by religious groups and that serve as the focus of the performance of
12
some ritual" (for example a cult-room with an altar), and evidence which did
not have this function and to which none or only incidental ritual acts were
related (such as a relief with the depiction of a deity in the facade of a house).
Consequently the people involved with the evidence are understood to be
those participating in the rituals taking place at the shrines (the participants in
the widest sense: those participating, having the opportunity to participate, or
being represented), or, in relation to the remaining religious material, that is in
the absence of (institutional) ritual, the people (beneficiaries) of whose daily
environment the evidence formed a part.
11
On the latter criteria see Santero 1983, 115-116.
WD s.v. "Shrine" 1, 3b. "Ritual": "the forms of conducting a devotional service especially as
established by tradition or by sacerdotal prescription: the prescribed order and words of a religious
ceremony" (WD s.v. "Ritual" 1); "a specific, observable kind of behaviour based upon established
or traditional rules" (Penner 1981, 863). How a shrine can be recognized is discussed in § 5D.
12
INTRODUCTION
5
§ 3 Status quaestionis
3A The decay of Ostia, the plundering of the site, and the excavations
In contrast to the Campanian cities, which were to a great extent sealed by
the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, Ostia slowly decayed over the
centuries. The abandonment of the buildings began in the second half of the
third century. The last regular inhabitants removed all objects which were
important to them, the belongings they were devoted to and objects of
financial value. What was left behind fell prey to nature and looters. Marble
statues and the marble decoration of walls and floors were taken to lime kilns,
the metal was melted down. The plaster decayed, the wood rotted away, and
the collapsing beams supporting ceilings and roofs brought down with them
the upper floors. Objects of artistic value were unearthed from the
Renaissance to the nineteenth century, to end up in private collections and
various museums. Small wonder that as a rule only the bare walls of the
13
ground floor and relatively few objects were found by the excavators.
Systematic investigations began in the nineteenth century - financed by the
Vatican -, but accurate excavations - according to the standards of the day only took place in the first decades of this century. In the thirties the site was
claimed by fascist propaganda, leading to the frantic clearing of numerous
14
buildings from 1938 to 1942. Needless to say that, because of the haste,
much information was neglected in these years. During most of these
excavations hardly any attention was paid to the stratigraphy. The precise
place of discovery of an object in a building was usually not recorded.
Excavations on a large scale no longer take place.
3B General studies concerning Ostia
In this century there has been a steady flow of standard text-books on Ostia.
The first one is L. Paschetto's extensive and still important study "Ostia,
colonia romana" (1912), which was followed by "Ostia, cenni storici e guida"
(1914), written by D. Vaglieri, director of the excavations. His successor, G.
2
Calza, published "Ostia, guida storico-monumentale" (1929 and 1930 ). After
the Second World War a general study with plans was published by various
authors ("Scavi di Ostia, part I", 1953).
13
On the decline of Ostia: Meiggs 1973, chapter 5 and Pavolini 1986(2). On the exploitation and
excavation: Meiggs 1973, chapter 6.
14
"I nuovi scavi di Ostia Antica cominciano già a rivelare i segreti di quel lembo di terra laziale
dove, secondo la leggenda virgiliana, sbarcò Enea per preparare i grandi eterni destini di Roma,
che, per merito del Duce, romano nel pensiero e nelle opere, rifulgono di nuova luce nel risorto
Impero." (Torri 1938, 8).
6
INTRODUCTION
Somewhat later "Ostia, der Welthafen Roms" (1957), by H. Schaal, and
"Ostia" (1959), written by R. Calza (Guido Calza's widow and the former
wife of G. De Chirico), with photographs by E. Nash. In 1960 R. Meiggs'
well-known, mainly historical study "Roman Ostia" (second edition 1973)
appeared. R. Calza published a second book in 1965: "Ostia". More recently a
guide to the ruins, containing the plans from SO I, was published by C.
Pavolini (1983). It was followed by his "La vita quotidiana a Ostia" (1986).
Finally R. Chevallier's "Ostie Antique. Ville et port" (1986) deserves mention.
Although Ostia has not received as much attention as Pompeii, the number
of specialized publications dedicated in full or partly to Ostia is fairly
numerous. What is conspicuously absent however are studies of the
individual buildings conforming to modern standards, dealing in detail with
the remains and the objects found among them. The buildings of Insula V,II
15
are the only ones that have so far been studied in this way, by J.S. Boersma.
A great obstacle to this work is the dating of the masonry, especially from
after the Severan period. In this field of studies the contributions by T.L.
16
Heres are of great importance. Because of this lack of publications the
assessment of the history of a building is often necessarily provisional.
Furthermore various aspects of many Ostian buildings have not yet been the
subject of satisfactory, systematic studies: the functions, appearance, lay-out,
size and distribution.
There is no specialized study of Ostia's social structure. The subject has
been dealt with mostly by historians, notably R. Meiggs and J.H. D'Arms,
17
both working mainly with inscriptions. Archaeologists studying Ostia have
been concerned with social implications from an early date, especially in
connection with the growing knowledge of Ostia's rented apartments. Of
those who took the archaeological evidence as starting-point, Pavolini is the
one who has paid attention to this aspect of the city in the most consistent and
penetrating way, in his book on daily life in Ostia. Nevertheless we are only
beginning to understand how the social texture of Ostian society was related
to the lay-out and equipment of individual buildings, and to the distribution of
the buildings.
15
Boersma 1985 with Bakker 1987.
See especially Heres 1982 and her contribution to Boersma 1985 (p. 11-71). Datings of second
century masonry up to (not including) the Severan period: Blake 1973. The chronological index in
SO I (p. 233-238) is terse and unreliable. See also SO I, 215-227 on the brick-stamps.
17
Meiggs 1973, replacing the outdated Wilson 1935(1); D'Arms 1976; D'Arms 1981, 121-148.
16
INTRODUCTION
7
3C Studies concerning religion in Ostia
Two overall studies of religion in Ostia are available: L. Ross Taylor's "The
Cults of Ostia" (1912) and M. Floriani Squarciapino's "I culti orientali ad
18
Ostia" (1962). Ross Taylor's book is supplemented by Meiggs. There is no
overall study of private religion in Ostia. The shrines of the Persian god
Mithras have been studied by Becatti (1954).
3D Studies concerning Roman private religion in general and in cities
other than Ostia
Private religion has, to my knowledge, always been dealt with according to
the antique definitions. A status quaestionis concerning Roman private
religion can be found in Orr's dissertation, finished in 1972, about private
religion in Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The first important and only general study about the subject was written by
A. De Marchi and published in 1896 and 1903 ("Il culto privato di Roma
antica", dealing with, respectively, "La religione nella vita domestica.
Iscrizioni e offerte votive" and "La religione gentilizia e collegiale").
Unfortunately these books lose much of their value, because all important
detailed studies on the subject were yet to appear. It should be noted that
many valuable remarks about private religion can be found in G. Wissowa's
"Religion und Kultus der Römer" (1912), even though the book focuses on
state religion. Important studies which have appeared since 1972 are: Orr
1978 (Orr on the subject of his dissertation), Wachsmuth 1980, Bömer-Herz
1981 (on the religion of the slaves), and Santero 1983 (on the private worship
of the Emperor), and many publications about the cult of Mithras.
The archaeological evidence from outside Ostia is scarce, with the
exception of that from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The material from these
two cities has been made accessible through specialized studies: by G.K.
Boyce ("Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii"; 1937) and D.G. Orr ("Roman
Domestic Religion. A Study of the Roman Household Deities and their
Shrines at Pompeii and Herculaneum"; 1972). Hardly any attention is paid by
these authors to the rooms and buildings in which the evidence is found, the
functions of which must therefore often be regarded as uncertain. As a result
this evidence can, from the architectural-utilitarian point of view, be used with
only a limited degree of reliability: if the sample is large (this is true for the
domus, shops, and bars), or if the function of (part of) a building can easily be
established (especially shops).
Most of the studies have focused on the gods which were worshipped,
18
Meiggs 1973, chapter 15.
8
INTRODUCTION
not on the people involved. An important exception is the epigraphical study
about the religion of the slaves by F. Bömer and his collaborator P. Herz. For
the cult of Mithras, Gordon 1972 and Rainer 1984 may be given special
mention.
§ 4 Selection of the material environment of the evidence
The evidence of private religion is found in a great variety of material
environments: in habitations, in all sorts of commercial premises, such as
workshops and guild-seats, and as separate shrines, some of which are found
on streets and squares (guild-temples; shrines at crossroads). Because the
large majority of the buildings in Ostia has not been studied in great detail,
much of the evidence has not yet been related to a building period. If it has
been, the function of the building in the relevant period is often unknown.
And if the function is known many uncertainties remain concerning the
appearance, lay-out, size, and distribution of that particular kind of building,
impeding the interpretation of the evidence. In order to be able to pay
sufficient attention to these aspects I have concentrated on part of the
evidence, namely that found in buildings or parts of buildings used as
habitation or for the actual handling and sale of goods. Notably the seats of
the guilds have been left aside. On the other hand one category of evidence
that is not found in the selected buildings has been added: the compita, shrines
at crossroads, related to quarters of the city. They have been included in view
of the worship of the Lares and Genius of the Emperor, which runs parallel to
the worship of the Lares and Genii of patres familiae in habitations and
commercial premises (on which see below, § 5A). The burial-places and
Portus have not been included.
§ 5 The evidence
5A Conspectus of the material expressions of private religion
Five kinds of evidence of private religion have been distinguished and
catalogued by Boyce and Orr in Pompeii and Herculaneum: cult-rooms,
aediculae, pseudo-aediculae, niches with depictions of deities, and paintings
19
20
of deities. The cult-rooms have benches and niches. An
19
Boyce 1937; Orr 1972, catalogues A and B. On the kinds of evidence: Boyce 1937, 10-18;
Orr 1972, 84-94, 128-134. The antique denominations cannot be dealt with here. It may be
noted that the widely used word lararium is found for the first time in the Scriptores Historiae
INTRODUCTION
9
aedicula is a miniature temple, with columns, entablature and sometimes
doors, on top of a podium. It may be in front of a niche. In Herculaneum
wooden aediculae have been found. A pseudo-aedicula is a niche on top of a
podium. Two kinds of niches can be distinguished: wall-niches and floorniches, the bottom or floor of the latter being at the same level as the floor of
21
the room. The wall-niches regularly have an aedicula-facade - painted or
made of stucco, terracotta, marble, or wood -, and often a projecting shelf. A
projecting brick is sometimes found together with the simplest kind, the
painting. Wooden tables with statuettes may have accompanied the paintings.
In an appendix Boyce has listed paintings of deities on the facades of
22
buildings.
In the Campanian houses and commercial premises deities are often
documented, usually the well-known combination of the Lares Familiares,
Genius of the paterfamilias, Genii Loci, and Di Penates, gods well
documented in antique literature and inscriptions.
The Lares Familiares protected all inhabitants of a house, including the
slaves. As a matter of fact Lar or Lares could even mean "house" from the
first century BC onwards. This cult is encountered in relation to the major
events in the life of the family (such as births, weddings, deaths, the departure
for a journey and returning home), but also in everyday life (of food fallen to
the ground it is said: In mensa utique id reponi adolerique ad Larem piatio
est).23 Originally there was only one Lar, in the Imperial period they always
form a pair. In Pompeii and Herculaneum the two Lares Familiares are
depicted as dancing youths, wreathed, wearing a tunica, holding a rhyton and
patera or situla.24
In between the Lares Familiares the Genius is usually found sacrificing at
an altar. He was a deity under whose protection the paterfamilias resided. The
Genius of the materfamilias was called Juno. In Pompeii and Herculaneum
the Genius is depicted as a togatus, capite velato, holding for
Augustae, in the biography of Marcus Aurelius (SHA, Marcus Aurelius 3, 5).
20
See also Di Capua 1950.
21
Hornbostel 1979, 3. Floor-niches: Boyce 1937, nrs. 71 (with masonry altar), 112 (with painting
of serpent and Ceres; with aedicula-facade), 226 (with painting of Jupiter), 365 (with masonry
altar), 432 (with base for statue; with aedicula-facade; this may be called a pseudo-aedicula
without podium).
22
Boyce 1937, appendix II (not the paintings of the compita). See also Fröhlich 1992, 48-55. On
the paintings in general: Fröhlich 1992.
23
Plinius Senior, Naturalis Historia 28, 27.
24
De Marchi 1896, 27-55; Wissowa 1897, especially 1875-1879, 1882-1885; Wissowa 1912, 166175; Böhm 1924, especially 814-818. For a summary including later research: Orr 1972, 4-30; Orr
1978, 1563-1569.
10
INTRODUCTION
example a cornucopiae and patera. It is not known how the Juno was
25
depicted. A male and a female snake - the male one with comb and beard -,
have often been painted in the shrines of Campania. These are Genii Loci,
26
protectors of the place.
Apart from the Lares and Genius many other gods are present in the private
shrines of Pompeii and Herculaneum. They are generally thought to have
been the Di Penates, a denomination used for deities protecting the house,
selected by the inhabitants, and passed from generation to generation. There
are many problems concerning the origin of the Di Penates, and the
interpretation is complicated by the fact that the Lares and Di Penates were
27
frequently confused in antiquity.
The gods worshipped in Campania were painted (sometimes symbols only),
or present as statues, statuettes, or busts. Often a painting and statuettes are
found together. The pseudo-aediculae regularly have a large niche, meant for
one, larger statue. Permanent and portable altars were found. The former are
made of stone or masonry, the latter of marble, travertine, tufa, terracotta, or
bronze. The projecting shelves too could be used for sacrifice: sometimes the
shelf is a roof-tile, which together with stucco imitates the top of an ara
pulvinata.28 Furthermore coins, lamps, vessels, imagines maiorum, and other
29
representations of people could be present. The diversity in the contents of a
private shrine can be illustrated by the two lararia of Alexander Severus. His
lararium maius contained depictions of Alexander the Great, deified
Emperors, animas sanctiores (Christ, Abraham, Orpheus, Apollonius of
Tyana, and others), and his ancestors. The secondary shrine held depictions of
30
Achilles, Cicero, Virgil, and magni viri.
Statues of deities and semi-deities have also been found in the niches and
25
Birt 1890, especially 1615-1617; De Marchi 1896, 69-78; Otto 1910, especially 1160-1161;
Wissowa 1912, 175-181; Kunckel 1974. For a summary including later research: Orr 1972, 45-81;
Orr 1978, 1569-1575. More recently: Dumézil 1983.
26
Boyce 1942. Cf. Fröhlich 1992, 56-61.
27
De Marchi 1896, 55-64; Wissowa 1909, especially 1882-1888; Wissowa 1912, 161-166;
Weinstock 1937, especially 425-428. For a summary including later research: Orr 1972, 34-44;
Orr 1978, 1562-1563. More recently: Radke 1981. On the origin of the Di Penates: Boyancé 1952;
Radke 1965, s.v. Penates (247-252). On the relation Di Penates-Lares: Piccaluga 1961.
28
Boyce 1937, 14-18; Orr 1972, 94-97, 100-125, 128-134; Orr 1978, 1575-1586. On terracotta
altars from Pompeii: Elia 1962. An incense burner: Boyce 1937, nr. 350.
29
See Boyce 1937, Index, and, lamps: Nilsson 1950; vessels: Petronius, Satyricon 29, 8; imagines
maiorum: SHA, Alexander Severus 29, 2 and cf. Boyce 1937, nr. 49; people: SHA, Marcus
Aurelius 3, 5; SHA, Alexander Severus 31, 4.5.
30
SHA, Alexander Severus 29, 2 and 31, 4.5 with Settis 1972.
INTRODUCTION
11
31
pseudo-aediculae of nymphaea. They were not, however, always to be
found in a cult-room, (pseudo) aedicula or niche. In the Casa del Moralista
(III 4, 2-3) in Pompeii a statue of a deity, perhaps Isis, was found on a base,
32
together with an incense burner and a brazier for burnt offerings. Deities and
semi-deities could be present as herms. Furthermore deities and apotropaic
depictions are found in mosaics, on stucco reliefs, on intarsios, and on
33
terracotta reliefs. Special provisions were made in the houses of the wealthy
34
for the imagines maiorum. Apotropaic objects such as amulets, protected
people from evil. Finally many utilitarian objects such as furniture and lamps
had religious decoration.
The household gods were worshipped on all important occasions for the
family, but especially on the Kalendae, Nonae, Idus and the birthday of the
paterfamilias.35 The Di Penates were offered food during every meal.36 They
may moreover have had a role in the feasts of the Lares and Genius.
There are several indications that these gods were actively worshipped in
the first century AD. In Pompeii and Herculaneum no less than 555 cultrooms, aediculae, pseudo-aediculae, niches and paintings were found, many
of these with a provision for sacrifice (see also § 5D). Sometimes graffiti were
found - for example: Ite Lares; Lares propi[ti]os; Genio M(arci) n(ostri) et
Laribus, duo Diadumeni liberti -, testifying to more or less spontaneous
37
worship.
31
Examples in Ostia of nymphaeum-niches in the Ninfeo degli Eroti (IV,IV,1) and Caseggiato
I,XIV,9. The Ninfeo has three niches, in two of which statues of Eros were found. In the third one
the feet of a statue, probably of Venus, were found (SO I, 158-159; Calza-Nash 1959, 33, fig. 41;
Neuerburg 1965, 190 nr. 128, fig. 53). In Caseggiato I,XIV,9 is a nymphaeum-floor-niche, in the
south wall of the west part of the central east-west corridor. In the vault are shells and pieces of
pumice.
Mention may also be made of a niche in the underground service area of the Terme del Mitra
(I,XVII,2) Here, behind a mithraeum, is a large room where the lower part of the apsidal basin in
the west wall of the baths is seen. Behind the apse, to the left of a door leading to a staircase, is a
floor-niche (for the position: Nielsen-Schiøler 1980, figs. 4 and 5). In the niche a statue of
Vulcanus was found in situ (Becatti 1938, 307, fig. 41; Calza-Floriani Squarciapino 1962, 30 nr. 3;
Helbig 1972, 23-24 nr. 3014). In the back wall of the niche is a round hole and on the front part of
the bottom is a masonry rim. Obviously and surprisingly the niche was supplied with water.
32
Jashemski 1979, 134-135.
33
Anthropologists and historians of religion do not agree as to whether magic is a religious
phenomenon (Middleton 1981; Versnel 1991). An apotropaic stone in a niche in the facade of the
Caupona all'Insegna dell'Alessandria, o dell'Africa (I 12, 5) in Pompeii: Maiuri 1949; De Vos - De
Vos 1982, 131.
34
Bömer 1943, 104-123, and, on "Ahnenverehrung", 123-139.
35
Wissowa 1897(1), 1877.
36
Wissowa 1912, 162.
37
CIL IV, 1539 = Boyce 1937, nr. 209 (below a niche); CIL IV, 844 = Boyce 1937, nr. 269 (on a
painting); CIL X, 861 = Boyce 1937, nr. 385 (in a cult-room). See also Boyce 1937, nrs. 2, 47, 63.
12
INTRODUCTION
Traces of fire on altars and remains of the last offerings were in a few cases
found by the excavators of Pompeii: the drama of the eruption of Mount
38
Vesuvius comes to mind. When Germanicus died in 19 AD inhabitants of
Rome worked off their frustration by flinging the statuettes of their Lares
Familiares into the street. Suetonius reports: Quo defunctus est die, lapidata
sunt templa, subversae deum arae, Lares a quibusdam Familiares in
publicum abiecti, partus coniugum expositi.39
How the household deities fared after the first century AD is difficult to
say, because an inventory and assessment of literary references, dedications,
shrines and statuettes is lacking. That the pagan house cults had not yet
disappeared in late antiquity is suggested by a law from 392 AD prohibiting
the worship of the Lares, Genius and Di Penates (Nullus omnino secretiore
piaculo Larem igne, mero Genium, Penates odore veneratus accendat
lumina, imponat tura, serta suspendat),40 and by criticism of the cult of the
41
Lares Domestici and Tutela in the early fifth century AD by Hieronymus.
On the other hand it is noteworthy that no depictions of the Genius are known
42
that are later than c. 300-325 AD.
5B The preservation of the evidence
Following up § 3A the preservation of the evidence of private religion in
Campania and Ostia will now be considered. Elsewhere hardly any evidence
43
has been preserved in situ.
The evidence from Pompeii and Herculaneum is not nearly complete, in
spite of the fact that these towns were to a great extent sealed in 79 AD.
44
Statuettes may have been carried off when people fled their homes.
38
Boyce 1937, nrs. 103, 126, 253, 463.
Suetonius, De Vita Caesarum, Caligula 5 with Versnel 1980, especially 553-558, 576-577, 610611. Versnel explains that the actions described by Suetonius took place in a mood of anger and
destruction; the anger was directed towards the gods, because they had not been able to prevent the
death; on a deeper level however the actions testify to a loss of faith in the future, that depended on
the Emperor and his future successor. The graffito Ite Lares, mentioned above, may testify to
similar feelings.
40
Codex Theodosianus 16.10.12.
41
Hieronymus, In Esaiam 16, 57, 7, 8 (c. 408 AD). On Tutela: Wissowa 1912, 178-179. Cf. CIL
II, 4082: Laribus et [Tu]telae, Genio L(ucii) n(ostri); CIL V, 3304: Tute[lae] dom[us]
Rupil[ianae]; Hieronymus, cited above; Querolus p. 37, 5.6.7.8.9.10 (author unknown). Lares
Domestici also in CIL II, 4160.
42
Kunckel 1974, 72-76.
43
Orr 1972, 134-137; 145-149.
44
See Boyce 1937, Appendix I, nr. 9: a collection of numerous objects, among them three
statuettes (Isis-Fortuna, Genius, nude female figure), found on a street. "These objects evidently
comprised a treasure carried away by some fleeing inhabitant at the time of the catastrophe and
dropped in the course of his flight".
39
INTRODUCTION
13
After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius the ruins were partly searched by
former inhabitants and plunderers. Often during the excavations no accurate
notes were taken, and the buildings have deteriorated considerably since the
early excavations. Boyce has noted that the evidence of private religion in
45
Pompeii is scarce in those parts of the town which were unearthed long ago.
Most of the Ostian evidence was destroyed or removed before the city was
interred. Statuettes will as a rule not have been left behind when people
moved to another dwelling. In late antiquity much evidence must have been
neglected and removed by Christians. When decline set in, many marble and
metal objects were scattered through the city, taken to the lime-kilns, or
46
melted down. In the deserted buildings the plaster of the empty niches
crumbled. As a result the evidence which has been preserved is usually no
more than an empty shell, devoid of statuettes and paintings. Finally, in spite
of Ostia's reputation as the city "par excellence" where buildings with several
floors are preserved, hardly anything is left of the upper floors. Only one
47
piece of evidence originated there.
5C The functions of niches
As has been explained above, many Ostian niches are empty, and in that
case the problem arises as to which niches were used for religious purposes.
The alternatives are discussed in this section.
Nymphaeum-niches can be recognized by holes for the supply and drainage
48
of water and by parapets on the bottom to obstruct the water. Large floorniches in walls or below staircases may have been used for storage and may
49
then have contained wooden shelves or a cupboard. In the Caseggiato di
50
Diana (I,III,3-4) a floor-niche below a staircase was probably a dog-kennel.
Large floor-niches may also have been left
45
Boyce 1937, 8; cf. Orr 1972, 97-98.
Cf. Tertullianus, Ad Nationes 1, 10, 20: Quanto enim inreligiosiores deprehendimini? Privatos
enim deos, quos Lares et Penates domestica consecratione perhibetis, domestica et licentia
inculcatis venditando, pignerando pro necessitate ac voluntate. See also Tertullianus,
Apologeticum 13, 4.
47
Catalogue A, nr. 49.
48
A comprehensive study of nymphaea: Neuerburg 1965.
49
Below staircase: see e.g. Boersma 1985, fig. 363 (in the Domus del Protiro (V,II,4-5)). For
wooden structures in shops: Gassner 1986, 36-40.
50
South wall of room 19, at the end of the main entrance corridor (Packer 1971, fig. 25). Starting
at 2.25 from east wall; h. 1.38; w. 0.66; max. d. 0.90. Back and sides of brick. Between the right
side and the back is a bend, at an obtuse angle, corresponding with angles in the reverse side of the
wall, in rooms 17 and 18. Had there been 90°-angles there would have been a hole passing through
the wall. The apparent necessity of great depth, the position of the niche in the building, and the
low position in the wall suggest to me that it was a dog-kennel. A dog-kennel in Pompeii:
Jashemski 1979, fig. 163.
46
14
INTRODUCTION
51
empty and served a decorative purpose. The apodyterium of the Terme
dell'Invidioso (V,V,2) has wall-niches in two walls where clothes were put
52
away. Small, simple wall-niches without plaster may have been places of
attachment for wooden structures, or may simply be damaged spots.
In modern literature it is stated repeatedly that lamps could be placed in
small niches. I know of only one instance of lamp-niches however. In the
Terme del Foro (VII 5) in Pompeii long rows of wall-niches in several rooms,
and one wall-niche in the apse of the caldarium of the men's section
apparently held lamps. The niches had been blackened by the burning of
53
lamps, of which over a thousand were found in the bath. The single niche in
the caldarium and a similar niche in the tepidarium may well have held a
statue of a deity as well: lamps were found among the contents of many
54
Pompeian private shrines. The lamp-niches in the Pompeian Terme del Foro
must however be an exception. It is significant that in Boyce's catalogue of
Pompeian lararia, in which numerous empty niches and numerous niches
with religious objects are described, there is not one niche in which only a
lamp was found. As far as single niches are concerned this is not surprising.
The large number of lamps and niches in the bath suggests that the few lamps
which could be placed in one niche did not provide much light. Also, by
placing one or more lamps in a niche dark corners would be left in a room
(the loss of light resulting from placing a lamp in a niche could perhaps be
compensated for by the reflection of white plaster). Therefore rows of niches
would have had to be used, but with the exception of the bath mentioned
above, these are not found in Pompeii or Ostia. And finally, if lamp-niches
existed, they would have been installed not in just one or two, but in many
rooms; but niches are found in few rooms. We may then conclude that lamps
were placed on the paterae of candelabra, on shelves, etcetera.
51
This is the most likely function of a large number of floor-niches (partially blocked doorways) in
the Caseggiato di Annio (III,XIV,4).
52
Pavolini 1983, 211.
53
Overbeck - Mau 1884, 203-211, figs. 116, 117, 119, 122; De Vos - De Vos 1982, 51.
54
See Boyce 1937, Index; cf. Nilsson 1950.
INTRODUCTION
15
5D The identification of shrines
It cannot always be established whether evidence of private religion was a
shrine, installed for the purpose of ritual. There are two archaeological criteria
for the identification of a shrine: the presence of the special household gods,
the Lares Familiares and the Genius of the paterfamilias, testifying to rituals
described in antique literature; the presence of an altar, testifying to sacrificial
ritual. The Lares and Genius are documented 125 to 132 times in the 555 cultrooms, aediculae, pseudo-aediculae, niches and paintings in the catalogues of
the Campanian evidence. Of the 540 aediculae, pseudo-aediculae, niches and
paintings in the catalogues 59 to 64 were found with provision for sacrifice.
Of the 15 cult-rooms in the catalogues 10 were found with provision for
sacrifice. The provisions are found in relation to the Lares and Genius, who
55
may be accompanied by other deities, or in relation to other deities alone.
But what if the Lares and Genius are not documented, and if no altar was
found? The absence of an altar can either mean that a portable one was used,
or that there never was one. If we are then dealing with a cult-room, it may
still be assumed that it was a shrine, in view of the temple-like nature of this
kind of evidence. The assessment of the aediculae, pseudo-aediculae, niches,
paintings, reliefs, intarsios, free-standing statues, and stucco and mosaic
depictions now becomes hazardous. Unlikely focuses for ritual are niches,
56
reliefs and intarsios high up in the wall, and painted, stucco and mosaic
religious depictions not set apart from surrounding decorative elements. The
former kinds of evidence could incidentally receive a ritual salute, as is
indicated by a story taking place in Ostia in the late second or early third
century AD. It is told by the Christian author Minucius Felix, who describes
how a pagan on a walk through the city notices some image of Serapis,
probably along the Decumanus, and salutes it: ... Caecilius simulacro
Serapidis denotato, ut vulgus superstitiosus solet, manum ori admovens
osculum labiis pressit. We know that the imagines maiorum were not
57
worshipped inside the house.
55
Other deities alone: Di Penates: Boyce 1937, nrs. 61 (niche), 96 (painting), 108 (niche), 123
(niche), 350 (aedicula); Genii Loci: Boyce 1937, nrs. 71, 126, 188, 223, 230, 235, 301, 380, 425,
and Orr 1972, cat. A, nr. 13 (all paintings).
56
Minucius Felix, Octavius 2, 4 with Meiggs 1973, 490-492 and Veyne 1985. Cf. Cato, De Agri
Cultura 2, 1: Pater familias, ubi ad villam venit, ubi Larem Familiarem salutavit, fundum eodem
die, si potest, circumeat. Altars have never been found in relation to reliefs and intarsios, and the
Lares and Genius are never depicted on these.
57
Bömer 1943, 104-123.
16
INTRODUCTION
5E Selection of the evidence
On the basis of the preceding sections the immobile and mobile evidence
can now be selected. Of course all shrines have been accepted: the cult-rooms;
remains with which altars were found; remains which have depictions of the
Lares and Genius. I have furthermore studied three kinds of evidence which
were regularly the focus of ritual in Campania: aediculae, pseudo-aediculae,
and religious niches.
As religious niches we may include: all wall-niches, with the exception of
those which resulted from the partial blocking of windows and have no
religious characteristics, and of the simple small ones, which may have been
places for the attachment of wood or accidental holes (the presence of plaster
excludes the latter two possibilities); floor-niches characterized as religious,
or too luxurious or too small to have been used for storage purposes.
I have furthermore accepted those religious depictions which have clearly
been set apart, isolated visually, from surrounding decorative motifs: all
reliefs and intarsios - which are always found isolated in a wall-, and a
number of depictions in mosaics and paintings.
In view of the preservation of the evidence the mobile objects (statues,
statuettes, altars, objects with inscriptions) have been catalogued only if they
were found in or in close proximity to the selected immobile evidence, or if it
58
can be shown that they must have been related to such evidence. It should
be remembered here that statuettes could be placed in temples and
58
Lares and Genii which have not been catalogued:
- Statuette of a Genius. "Trouvé à Ostie" (note by Walther Fol), found before 1871 (Musée d'Art et
d'Histoire, Geneva, inv. nr. MF (= Musée Fol) 1267; Deonna 1916, nr. 198, fig. 198; Kunckel
1974, 98 nr. F VI 4, Taf. 63, 3; additional (negative) information was sent to me by dr. J.-L. Maier
of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire).
- Statuette of a Lar. From the Domus sul Decumano (III,II,3), found "at a depth of one metre"
according to the Ostian inventory (August 27th 1938) (St.-r. VIII, sh. 5, inv. nr. 3536; Calza Floriani Squarciapino 1962, 102; Helbig 1972, nr. 3168(2). Helbig: first century AD).
- Statuette of a Lar. Place of discovery unknown, found before 1871 (Musée d'Art et d'Histoire,
Geneva, inv. nr. MF 1273; Deonna 1912, 36 nr. 3; Deonna 1916, nr. 164, fig. 164; Neugebauer
1936, 96-97, Pl. VI, 3. Neugebauer: first half of second century AD).
- Two statuettes of a Lar. Place of discovery unknown, found before 1871 (in the former Museo
Lateranense, Rome, room XV, Vetrina dei bronzi; Marucchi 1922, 34).
- Marble relief with a depiction of two snakes (Genii Loci), found in the Piccolo Mercato (I,VIII,1)
according to the Ostian inventory (st.-r. I, wall A, inv. nr. 131; Calza-Nash 1959, 91, Pl. 128; Ostia
neg. nr. C 256).
- Two fragments of a painting of a Genius and two snakes. Place of discovery unknown (First
fragment: museum Sala delle Pitture, inv. nr. 10106; Veloccia Rinaldi in Floriani Squarciapino
1971, 33-34 nr. 2; Helbig 1972, 149 nr. 3188(1). Second fragment: st.-r. Sala delle Pitture, inv. nr.
10084; Veloccia Rinaldi in Floriani Squarciapino 1971, 33-34 nr. 3; Helbig 1972, 3188(2).
Veloccia Rinaldi: Lar, second or third century AD; Helbig: Lar, c. 200-210 AD).
INTRODUCTION
17
59
in the seats of guilds.
Finally two kinds of incidental evidence have been added: religious graffiti
60
and ritually buried bolts of lightning.
If evidence from previous building periods was left in existence during
modifications in a building, it is assumed that it was kept in use.
§ 6 Structure of the study
As to the buildings I have selected, a first distinction has been made
between expensive dwellings owned and used by the inhabitants on the one
hand, and simpler habitations - many of which were let out - on the other
(simple dwellings may occasionally have been inhabited by the owners or
their dependents, but no such habitations can be identified with certainty in
61
Ostia). A distinction has also been made between commercial premises
accessible to the public and those which normally were not. In both cases the
criterium for the distinction is the influence exerted by outsiders, such as
landlords.
Thus the first four chapters are dedicated to, respectively: habitations
owned by their inhabitants (domus; chapter 2); other, simpler habitations
(chapter 3); premises used for the handling of goods, not open to the public
(workshops and depots; chapter 4); premises for the sale of goods, open to the
public (shops, bars, markets, and hotels; chapter 5). The letting-out of rooms
in hotels does not belong in this chapter, but the buildings have to be added,
because the sale of food and drink was an integral part of the service offered
62
there.
In the introductory section of each chapter the previous research on the
Ostian buildings and, if necessary, the definition of the kinds of buildings are
discussed (§ 1). Next a conspectus of the buildings in Ostia is offered (§ 2),
followed by notes on their dates, appearance, lay-out, size, and distribution (§
3), and by notes on the people involved with them (owners, workers,
personnel, inhabitants, visitors) (§ 4). In § 5 the evidence of
59
That Lar-statuettes could be dedicated in the seats of guilds is suggested by CIL XIV S, 4293,
found in the Caseggiato dei Triclini (I,XII,1), the guild-seat of the corpus fabrum tignuariorum
(Hermansen 1982(1), 62-63). This is a dedication to Jupiter Optimus Maximus by Q. Varius
Secundus, sevir Augustalis idem quinquennalis, of ten Lares argenteos cum hypobasi argentea et
titulo, ex viso. It is however not certain that the inscription belongs to the building. Cf. CIL X, 6,
recording the presence of seven silver Lar-statuettes in the town-hall of Regium.
60
On the latter see Wissowa 1912, 122 and Pietrangeli 1951.
61
See chapter 3, § 1.
62
For details see chapter 5, § 1.
18
INTRODUCTION
private religion is presented. In § 5A summaries of the descriptions in the
catalogue are offered in topographical order. If necessary the dates, position,
appearance, deities and explicit data concerning the participants and
beneficiaries are discussed. Then follows a conspectus of the dates, the
position and appearance, and the deities and their feasts, with additional
information from other sites, epigraphy and antique literature (§ 5B). The
final section draws upon epigraphical sources (from Ostia and elsewhere) and
antique literature. It offers a conspectus of the participants or beneficiaries,
and the way in which they were organized (§ 5C).
If evidence is found in a building or part of a building which may form part
of the selected material environment, but cannot be identified as such with
certainty, or if evidence is found in the selected material environment, but this
cannot be specified (e.g. simple habitation or workshop), it is dealt with in
chapter 6.
The mithraea are studied in chapter 7. A separate chapter has been
dedicated to these shrines, in view of the composition of the groups of
adherents, which in this case it would be unwise to neglect: the participation
in this cult of people from outside the buildings in which the mithraea are
found was extensive, and in this respect the cult differs from the other cults in
the selected premises, the participants in which came primarily from these
buildings. The shrines of Mithras are found in the selected material
environment and elsewhere. Nevertheless all mithraea are studied, because
the initiators took the presence of other mithraea into account, witness the
regular distribution through the city. I have refrained from a theological study
of the cult in Ostia, which is better left to the specialists. In chapter 8 the
compita are studied, including uncertain and falsely identified compita.
The structure of chapters 6 to 8 runs parallel to that of § 5 of the first four
chapters. Chapter 9 is dedicated to the Sacello del Silvano, a cult-room in a
workshop in the Caseggiato dei Molini (I,III,1). A summary of this chapter is
found in chapter 4, the separate treatment was prompted by the ample
opportunity the shrine offers to study the Imperial cult. A technical, stylistic,
and iconographic analysis of the paintings in the shrine ("Mural Paintings in
the Sacello del Silvano") by E.M. Moormann, a specialist in the field of
painting, can be found at the end of the study.
The evidence is interpreted in chapters 10-12. In chapter 10 the various
aspects of the Ostian buildings highlighted in the preceding chapters are
discussed. Chapter 11 focuses on the religious evidence in chapters 2-6,
chapter 12 on that in chapters 7-9. The latter three chapters are treated as a
group, because in all three cases the cult of, loyalty towards, and involvement
of the Emperor stand out.
INTRODUCTION
19
The bulk of the evidence is described in catalogue A. The mithraea have
not been catalogued, because they have already been described satisfactorily
by Becatti. Catalogue B contains the evidence pertaining to the compita,
which stand out as a separate group. The Sacello del Silvano (Caseggiato dei
Molini, room 25) is dealt with in catalogue C. This shrine is treated in a
separate catalogue, because the succession of the layers of plaster in the room
is discussed in the catalogue, in order to unburden the main text. The adjacent
room (24) is described in catalogue C as well, because from a constructional
point of view it forms an entity with the Sacello, and because it was
apparently a shrine too.
§ 7 Technical data
The names given in this study to some of the Ostian buildings (labels, such
as "Caseggiato" and appendages, e.g. "dei Molini") are not in common use.
The use of the labels Caseggiato, Casa and Insula is discussed in chapter 3, §
1. Some alternative labels have been introduced on the basis of the functions
of buildings. An alternative appendage has been used if the one in common
use is wrong or questionable.
In order to unburden the descriptions in the catalogues eight kinds of niches
have been distinguished (fig. 1):
A1: rectangular plan, no vault.
A2: semicircular or curved plan, no vault.
B1: rectangular plan and "shell"-vault.
B2: semicircular or curved plan and "shell"-vault.
C1: rectangular plan and vault going from left to right.
B2-C2: semicircular or curved plan, front part of vault going from left to
right, back part of vault in the shape of a shell (C2, semicircular or curved
plan and vault going from left to right, cannot be realized).
D: rectangular plan, with triangular, sloping top.
E: vault only, in the shape of a shell or going from left to right.
The description of cult-rooms is modelled after Boersma's catalogue of the
Ostian Insula V,II (Boersma 1985; instructions for use: p. 302-303). The
description of each room in the present study is made up of the following
items:
A Measurements (north, east, south and west wall respectively); B Walls; C
Floor; D Ceiling; E Data from the excavations; structures and objects in and
from room.
20
INTRODUCTION
Figure 1. The kinds of niches.
Wall-sections have been distinguished. Different kinds of masonry (such as
latericium, mixtum), and stretches of similar masonry separated by ajoint are
given different numbers. The masonry on either side of a doorway is given
the same number only if a lintel is present. The blocking of a doorway or
window is numbered separately. Antique repairs are not given a separate
number if they are insignificant. I have inserted the description of doorways
and passages (Boersma's item c) into the description of the wall-sections,
because I regard them as an integral part of the walls. Item C deals with the
floor (Boersma's item d), item D with the ceiling (in Boersma under b).
The northern stretch of the Cardo Maximus is assumed to be oriented northsouth, the eastern stretch of the Decumanus east-west. Measurements below
one centimetre are in millimetres, all others in metres. Descriptions like "first
..., second ..." are from left to right.
Abbreviations not found in Boersma 1985 are: st.-r.: store room; sh.:
showcase; mus.: museum.
Some datings of masonry in catalogue A are followed by the remark
"(Heres from photograph)". These datings were kindly suggested to me by
T.L. Heres after an examination of my photographs. They are of a provisional
nature, because they are not based on a study in Ostia itself of the particular
stretch of masonry.